Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers put Roki Sasaki on the IL. This first-place team has three out of five Opening Day starters on the IL. On Saturday, Clayton Kershaw will start his 18th season in the major leagues.
Sasaki has a right shoulder impingement. In his last three starts, the velocity was down. The Dodgers hope Sasaki will return sooner rather than later, but they need Sasaki to be right.
During the last 10-day road trip, Blake Snell was supposed to start a throwing program, but he still wasn’t feeling good. On Tuesday, he was supposed to see Dr. Neal ElAttrache. There is no report yet.
This past road trip, Tyler Glasnow started a throwing program. Before he can return to the mound in a major league game, he must find a more comfortable delivery than he had at the beginning of the 2025 season. Glasnow will probably return during the All-Star break.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been the ace of the starting rotation despite a poor start against the Arizona Diamondbacks when he gave up his first major league grand slam. He is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday against the Athletics. He is still a frontrunner for the National League Cy Young award. If Yamamoto wins that award, he will become the first Japan-born pitcher to be honored. Currently, Yamamoto has made 8 starts with a 4-3 record, a 1.80 ERA, and 53 strikeouts.
Dustin May has struggled with his return to the major leagues after missing almost two seasons with an elbow surgery and a repaired esophagus. In his first three starts, May was brilliant, and then he struggled with his command. Against the Diamondbacks, May deserved the victory, but the Dodgers didn’t support him offensively. The Dodgers need May to be good. So far this season, he has a 1-3 record with a 4.08 ERA and 33 strikeouts.
Tony Gonsolin has been a Godsend for the Dodger starting rotation after missing almost two years with Tommy John surgery. In his 3 starts, Gonsolin has a record of 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 21 strikeouts. If he continues to pitch the way he has, he will be the second best starter for the Dodgers.
Landon Knack is going to have a runway to show what he can do, but he needs to improve.
On Wednesday, Emmet Sheehan will pitch live batting practice to Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman. Sheehan is recovering from Tommy John surgery on May 15, 2024, and the reports have been marvelous.
The Dodgers can’t go with more bullpen games. Already, the Dodgers have used their bullpen for 157 innings, the most in the major leagues. On the last road trip, the relievers showed signs of fatigue.
The Dodgers might promote either or both Justin Wrobleski and Bobby Miller. Both had disastrous major league starts in the 2025 season, but they have incredible talent.
The Dodgers will go as far as their starting rotation will take them. Currently, the Dodgers have a major league starting rotation and bullpen on the IL. Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman have experience with piecing together a pitching staff, but Friedman didn’t want to pursue pitching at the trading deadline; thus, he signed all available good pitchers in the previous offseason.
